Where We Work: Creative Office Spaces | Book Review & GIVEAWAY!

I was very lucky to win a copy of the Where We Work: Creative Office Spaces book a few weeks ago via Twitter. I know, how awesome is that! I think by now you all must realise that Twitter is something you definitely need to start getting into, if you haven’t already. Great things await you there, you just need to “work it out” for yourself – promise. But back to the book. I was so excited when my copy arrived courtesy of Ian McCallam, who is the creator of This Ain’t No Disco (It’s Where We Work).
Ian’s new book is based on his popular site that showcases workspaces of advertising and media agencies from around the world.Where We Work: Creative Office Spaces features a selection of 45 creative firms’ interiors from around the world.

If you are an interior designer who is in the business of designing creative workspace interiors (like me – in fact, I’m working on an ad agency fitout right now), or you are simply after some inspiration for your own office space, then this is the book for you. In it you will find lots of inspiration and fantastic examples of some of my favourite creative workplace interiors from around the world (check out a selection of images I scanned in for you to whet your palette… Mmmm, yummy).

Ok, sure, there are a few massively “out there” workspace examples in this book as well. And just to make it super clear, this is in no way a criticism of the book at all, but more of a comment on the advertising agency “interior stereotype”. I mean, what is it with creative business who need to scream at the top of their lungs – “Look at us, we are soooo creative! So we have a foosball table in the middle of the office, oh and a pool table, and lots of mismatched furniture, and a bar. Yeah, we are too cool for school man.” Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love ad agency fitouts. I love them a lot. In fact – some of my personal favourite projects to date are those I have done for creative agencies (those who know me, know exactly the projects I have in mind). All I’m saying is that these interiors often scream “I am an ad agency interior!” by ticking expected boxes, they are whacky just because they can be, where the final result bears no relation to the work philosophy of the agency they are designed for. I think that workplace interiors for creative businesses ought to be intelligent, sophisticated and crafted for their specific needs and context – a building or a city in which they exist. This is precisely why I love so many fantastic examples shown in the Where We Work: Creative Office Spaces.

Again, sorry, I’m off on a tangent here. I can’t help myself. Tangent is my middle name.

In case you are not already convinced that you should be getting yourself a copy of this book, you can have a little browse through it right here. Check out the listing of retailers that stock the book, or bag yourself a copy from Amazon.

And here’s the super fun part – GIVEAWAY time!! Ian McCallam has generously offered to give away a copy of the Where We Work: Creative Office Spaces to one lucky reader. Hooray! To be in the running, please leave a comment by midnight next Thursday 4th November. The winner will be selected at random and contacted via e-mail on Friday 5th November.

Good luck everyone and have an ace weekend!

x dana

UPDATE – This competition is now closed. Thank you so much for all your comments, especially the super creative poems. Amazing. I swear, yellowtrace readers are the best and the coolest people ever! You guys rock! Alas, there can only be one winner and the Random Number Generator has spoken once again.

The winner will be contacted by e-mail. Thank you again everyone for entering the giveaway. One day I’ll be able to reward all of you. One day.

About The Author

Dana is an award-winning interior designer living in Sydney, Australia.
With an unhealthy passion for design, Dana commits to an abnormal amount of daily design research. Regular travel and attendance at premier design events, enables Dana to stay at the forefront of the design world globally. While she is super serious about design, Dana never takes herself - nor design - too seriously.
Together with her life and business partner, Nick Hughes, Dana is Boss Lady at Studio Yellowtrace, specialising in Interior Design, Creative Direction and Special Projects. The studio takes a highly conceptual and holistic approach to translating brands & ideas into places.

Congrats Luke on winning the book. We hope you like it! It’ll be in the post next week. Thanks everyone for leaving a comment on Dana’s fab review of the book. Follow us on Twitter (@aintnodisco) and keep your eyes on Yellowtrace – as we might just be doing another giveaway soon!